**3.1 Biogas in rural communities and its benefit**

Households in Africa, particularly in the rural areas are increasingly facing energy supply problems. According to United Nations (2010) there are approximately 60% of the total African population living in the rural areas. Biomass in form of wood, cow dung, and crop residues biomass constitutes 30% of the energy used in Africa and over 80% used in many sub-Saharan countries such as Burundi (91%), Rwanda and Central Africa Republic (90%), Mozambique (89 %), Burkina Faso (87%), Benin (86%), Madagascar and Niger (85%) (cited in United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2007). The availableness of these traditional fuels (wood, dried dung and agricultural waste) is declining (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Integrated Science and Technology ISAT, undated), while the commercialised fuels (e.g. charcoal) are very expensive and their availability unreliable. Domestic biogas provides an opportunity to overcome these challenges in the rural areas. This is because biogas production makes use of domestic resources such as agricultural crop wastes and animal wastes such as pigs, cattle, and poultry as well as human excreta. Biogas production using the existing domestic resources therefore, has a potential to provide a number of benefits to the rural communities in Africa. Biogas plants that are well functioning can provide a wide range of direct benefits to the users particularly in the rural areas. Many of these benefits are directly linked to the Millennium Development Goals of reducing income poverty, promoting gender quality, promoting health and environmental sustainability.
